Combined Unit Plan Assessment and Evaluation - 2007

Unit Name: Chemical Reactions
Author: Amy
Evaluator: Jay

Nice idea for a chemistry unit. Need to flesh out the lessons. Current Score: 17/25; All SOE criteria met.
- fogleman

In order to meet SOE criteria, please make the following revisions:

• For Criteria 5: Add an introduction statements that (a) introduce each of the day's activities, (b) the day's learning goal (or compelling question) , (c) and a rationale (why might this be important) in order to "hook" students.

This assessment is a combination of three different forms. The first is meant to provide feedback on the degree that the unit plan has incorporated the main ideas about science teaching stressed in EDC 430 this semester. The second is the URI School of Education Rubric that is used across all the teaching methods courses to make sure that the Rhode Island Beginning Teacher Standards (RIBTs) are being addressed. The third component is a summary of my feedback for each of your unit plan components. NOTE: All criteria on the SOE Rubric must score a 3 or above in order for you to begin student teaching. Please feel free to revise your unit plan based on this feedback, and send me an email explaining your revisions.

Completeness and Organization

Criteria	Points/Possible	Comments
1. Is the unit plan organized in a way that makes sense?	01/(01)
2. Are all the components present? (e.g. Purpose, Concept Map or Outline, 10 Day Lesson Sequence, 3 Long Lessons, Rationale citing how students learn, Assessment strategy.)	7(12)	Several lessons missing key components.
3. Is the writing clear, engaging, proofread, formatted, etc.	.5 /(01)	Formatting errors.

Content

Criteria	Points/Possible	Comments
4. Are the standards unpacked to indicate subtopics? Student preconceptions?	01/ (02)	Topics not explained in inpacking.
5. Does each lesson include learning performances, i.e. statements about what students will be able to do at the end of the lesson?	1.5/(02)	Objectives are sometimes procedural, but don't indicate what should be learned.
6. Do the plans have students doing something every day? Do students experience phenomena related to the topic?	02/(02)
7. Do laboratory activities include sufficient time/instruction for students to do/learn about science practices?	01/(01)

Assessment

Criteria	Points/Possible	Comments
8. Do the long lesson plans include questions that allow for formative assessment?	01/(02)
9. Are students assessed at a variety of cognitive levels?	02/02

Overall impression

10. What will students love (or at least enjoy) about this unit? They may enjoy the labs.

11. What might be added to make this unit more engaging?

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SOE Unit Plan Rubric

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Score: 3 Evidence/ Comments:

Grade span expectations cited in learning goals. There is no explanation of whether this unit fits within school curriculum.

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Score: 3 Evidence/ Comments:

RIBTS and content standards addressed, though it is not clear if all lessons should be included, since they do not address GSEs.

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Score: 4 Evidence/ Comments:

Unit uses a variety of activities, experiences, and phenomena to address topic.

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Score: 3. Evidence/ Comments:

Content is accurate, however, many skills such as writing chemical equations, are treated at a procedural level, i.e. without explaining what is going on at the atomic level.

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Score: 3 Evidence/Comments:

Though activities will be engaging, each lesson needs introduce each of the day's activities, the day's learning goal (or compelling question) , and a rationale (why might this be important) in order to "hook" students.

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Score 3. Evidence/Comments:

There are a variety of ways to express understanding, but specific accommodations are not cited.

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Score: 5. Evidence/Comments:

Students use technology to investigate chemical properties.

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Score: 3. Evidence/Comments:

Lessons include student support materials, including procedure/classwork handouts if appropriate.

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Score: 3: Evidence/Comments

Activities require students to demonstrate skills, but do not provide guidance that would support higher level thinkingd.

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Score: 4 Evidence/Comments:

A variety of assessments are called for in unit. A detailed guide for the final assessment is provided.

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Score: 4. Evidence/Comments:

Lesson format is incomplete and inconsistent. Each lesson should include an overview, objectives that state what students will be able to do after activities, an introduction to the lesson, a description of each instructional activity that includes bulleted teacher actions, a conclusion that reviews day's work, and a statement about how students' understandings will be assessed.

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Detailed Feedback:

Purpose

• If students are supposed to be applying their knowledge, you should describe the knowledge that they have already learned.

Learning Goals

• Guessing from the arbitrarily narrow margins, much of the text on your "unpacking" page was pasted from somewhere else. Shouldn't you include a citation?
• It is not clear where your interpretations begin, or what "big ideas" about chemical reactions your unit will address.
• Did you take into account RI's GSE's? If so, you should cite these.

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Revision Feedback Round 2 (R2FB)

• My summary of your changes
  • Added link to GSE Site
  • Deleted paragraphs describing chemical reactions.
• Feedback on revisions
  • This page could be improved by adding an explanation of each of the items on your lists. For example, you list characteristics of scientific inquiry, e.g. collecting data and communicating ideas. Are you assuming that the reader shares your understanding of these terms and how you will incorporate them into your unit? What would you say if you were trying to explain to a parent what their student will be learning during this unit.

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Concept Map

• Graphic represents lesson sequence well.
• Concepts introduced/used in each lesson could be added in ovals arranged around each lesson to provide a more complete representation of your unit.

R2FB

• Summary of changes
  • Graphic possibly extended.
• Feedback
  • See previous comments.

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Rationale

• Each of your sections added to an understanding of your unit. You should reread this page and pretend you are reading about this unit for the first time. You use ideas that you don't explain, e.g. you should explain what chemical concepts your unit introduces.
• There are several misspellings/typos. Please re-edit.

R2FB

• Summary of Changes
  • Text edited.
  • Description of summative assessments added.
• Feedback
  • As before, If a general reader or parent was reading this page, he or she would not understand why you chose the headings or why some headings contain lists and some contain paragraphs. If you added an introductory paragraph, you could explain that your rationale answers several questions, including how you try to make the topic meaningful, how you provide for students to do inquiry, etc.

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!!Assessment

• You should add a description of some of your assessment strategies and explain why you chose them.

R2FB

• Summary of Changes
  • New document link added
  • Description of summative assessments added.
• Feedback
  • See previous feedback. You need to EXPLAIN your assessment decisions using what you learned about assessment in class, e.g. importance of formative and summative assessment.

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!!Lesson Sequence
!!!L01 - L05

• Your lessons are formatted differently than was called for in class. Is there a reason? Your instructions for your students seem to be mixed with your plan for the activities, and consequently, it is difficult to know how your students will know what do to without you telling them each step.
• Overview - none
  • It would be helpful if you explained what students will be doing, how much of it is review of material taught previously, and why you want students to do these activities.
• Objectives
  • Why are your standards pasted in w/ narrow margins? This makes your lesson look haphazardly constructed, i.e. unprofessional.
• Introducing the Lesson - None
  • The idea of organizing your unit around a "virtual field trip" is an interesting one, but I'm afraid it will loose its effectiveness if you don't plan to make your theme, as well as the daily goals and a justification for those goals, apparent to the students. Each lesson seems to begin with directions for an activity without an explanation of what or why.
• Instructional Activities.
• You provide a long list of steps, but it is not clear how students will follow them. Will you read these steps? IF so, how will students stay synchronized with you? Generally, teachers either provide worksheets with procedures or post them on an overhead because narrating a procedure is tiring (and doomed to fail.)

R2FB

• Summary of Changes to L01
  • Reformatted lesson plan somewhat. (Why is the reference handout at the top of the page and why don't you have lesson title?
  • Enhanced overview and added statement of purpose.
  • Moved instructions into student handout
  • Added formative and summative assessment headings.
• Feedback
  • Creating a student handout helps students engage in steps w/o verbal direction.
  • You need to provide an introduction to the day's activity that includes a purpose, an opening question, a learning goal, and an statement of what successful students will have done/produced by end of day.
  • Now that you've labeled some of you questions as "formative" assessment, what will be you be looking for as anwers for these questions? What feedback will you provide?

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R2FB for L02

• Summary of Changes
  • Lesson reformatted.
  • Student instructions removed.
  • Review questions added. (Good!)
• Feedback on L02
  • Your description is so brief that I can't tell if you are doing the smog city activity as a class (one computer + projector), or in groups, pairs, or singles.
  • "What variable had the most affect..." should probably be "What variable had the largest effect..."
  • What answers are you looking for in your review?
  • Again, you need to think about how you will set up and conclude this lesson, i.e. what you will say to help the students think of the unit as a coherent whole. How does yesterday's review of chemical equations relate to this lesson? Will they have to apply this knowledge? What will they be doing as the continue on their virtual field trip?
  • This is a neat idea for a unit, but you're not selling it, and it probably will not swim on its own. :-) What I mean is that students will groan when they hear that the field trip is not really a trip unless you prepare them properly.

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R2FB for L03

• Summary of Changes
  • Reformatted lesson
• Feedback
  • I like this idea of doing a lab and then relating to your virtual field trip. Why aren't you letting the students in on your plans at the beginning of the period? You only mention the mystery boxes in your introduction. You have a variety of activities, but students will not know how they are connected unless you tell them at the beginning. Give them a goal for the period!
  • Be sure you try this lab before hand and refine your instructions!

R2FB for L04

• Summary of Changes
  • Reformatted lesson; put students instructions in handout.
• Feedback
  • You need to provide students with an overview of the day.
  • Your plan is still very brief. After students do a lab, you will have to connect their actions to you learning goal by asking questions, etc. What questions will you ask (I know you say that you will go over handout questions) and what answers will you steer students toward?

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L06 - Classifying Chemical Reactions

• I am curious why you decided to include this. Is it in the GSE's? Did your CT request you include it? Will your students use it later in the unit? Whatever the reason, you should include a brief rationale at the end of each lesson explaining why you think this topic is important.

L07 - Energy

• Overview - None
• Objectives - Should include what students will be able to do after hearing lecture beyond "explain observations..." What observations? What will they say?
• Introduction - none
• Instructional Activities
  • What do students know about energy up to this point?
  • Will they know the relationship between heat and energy?
  • Why are your lab procedures in your lesson plan but not on a handout?
• Conclusion - none
• Assessment - none

L08 - Unit Review

• Overview - None
• Objectives - None
• Introduction - none
• Instructional Activities - None
• Conclusion - none
• Assessment - none

L09 and 10 - Science Fair

• Overview - None
• Objectives - None
• Introduction - none
• Instructional Activities
  • How will you prepare evaluators?
  • Will each group present to their evaluators simultaneously? If so, then how will you know what they say. If not, then most of your students will just be acting as "audience" most of the day, which may be frustrating for them.
• Conclusion - none
• Assessment - none

Assessment Notes

• Will you administer a summative assessment? If so, where it it?

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